5.1 pc feeding 2 stereos+ a subwoofer

parslow.pongbert

Prominent
Dec 1, 2017
2
0
510
Can I make a 5.1 system from one stereo amp as the front left and right and another as the rear left and right. I'd be happy for the centre speaker output to also be fed to the front left and right as that would effectively sound in the centre.

I also have a standalone base speaker+subwoofer box (it has it's own speaker wire attached) that was part of a sony tv bar setup. I'd like to get that to take the subwoofer output from my PC, presumably by buying a very cheap amp.

My motherboard is the Gigabyte Gaming 7 with inbuilt 5.1 soundcard as the output.

I just like the idea of putting all these old systems to good use. For the front speakers I have an audiolab 8000A Amp and Technics SB-CS5 speakers(from an old midi system).
For the rear, which I have been using up until now as my sole PC output I have a sonos play 5 (stereo with inbuilt amp) placed just a few inches behind my head, which gives great sound (like having weightless headphones on).

Any tips or comments as to how I can best go about this setup.

I want it to take advantage of positional sound in games and movies and it would also have to take my usual stereo spotify output, which may or may not sound better spread through these 5 speakers.
 

parslow.pongbert

Prominent
Dec 1, 2017
2
0
510
Thanks, but the only options in software are "2/2.1" and "5.1 surround" (that show currently - I don't know if more options would show if I had components connected to sub front rear etc) so for the 5.1 sources to to send a 5.1 signal and get it reproduced on this system I would have had to merge the physical outputs by combining the leads, for front centre (splitting it off from the c/sub output) and front left and right? I'm assuming there's nothing to stop me doing that.

Are you saying that with a stereo input like spotify or most games and films that the sound card will only use front left and right as an output?
If so it seems I could use alternative software, if it exists, that would allow me to output the sound as I wish e.g. send a stereo signal to either front or rear pair or both depending on which I prefered the sound of. I know this would still just be stereo over more speakers, but that's ok.

What do I look for to see if my "PC can currently process stereo into surround"? That would be a faked surround I presume. Is there a name for it?

Current software is SoundblasterRecon3Di

Thanks again for any suggestions or insights.